LIS surgery Tuesday

Journal of LIS and recovery postpartum

Are you having, or have you had a Lateral Internal Sphincterotomy (LIS)? Please share your experiences here, or ask any questions.

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Re: LIS surgery Tuesday

Postby Broncosgirl » 31 Mar 2015, 19:05

I am 7 hours out from my LIS. The procedure itself was easy. I was given IV sedation and it worked wonderfully. I was completely out for the entire thing and was able to wake within 15 min after surgery. For those breastfeeding, I was told I can resume breastfeedig sooner than I would have with a general anesthesia.

I didn't think I would be in any pain right after surgery because of all the meds I had been given, but I did start to get pretty sore within about 30 min. I took two of the perscription pain meds (norco) and felt better pretty fast but had some nausea from not having eaten much.

The pain level is about a 3-4 out of 10. It's less than the spasms and feels more like a bruise in my butt or like I rode a horse for way too long. I have been able to walk and sit a bit, but mostly trying to nap and take it easy.

5 hours after I took the Norco, the pain started to return. I tried 2 extra strength tylenol instead. For a few hours it seemed to work about as well, but now, 2 hours later the pain is coming back again. It's not horrible, but I may alternate between tylenol and the heavy duty stuff.

I am very nervous about the first BM as we all are. Wish me luck for whenever that happens and feel free to ask any questions.

P.S. They put a wad of dressing and such on my butt to catch blood and drainage. It is pretty lumpy and uncomfortable. I was told I could use depends instead and it is much more pleasant.
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Re: LIS surgery Tuesday

Postby NDMK312 » 31 Mar 2015, 19:25

Glad to hear things went smoothly for you. Our experiences so far sound the same. Don't be scared of the first BM, it won't be as bad as you think. I didn't need gauze by the next day the bleeding and drainage seemed to stop. The throbbing has gotten worse especially here on day 4 after BM, but subsides by the afternoon to almost nothing by the evening. I called the surgeon's office today to make sure that increased pain at this point was normal, and she said unfortunately it is, but that I should be getting over the hump soon. I've been sitting okay, since day 3, for half hour increments. You should be good for breast feeding.

Good luck to you and your recovery. Keep me posted! Congrats on getting past the first step, now to the road to recovery!
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Re: LIS surgery Tuesday

Postby chachacha » 31 Mar 2015, 20:01

Thanks for posting so soon after the surgery. I'm thrilled that things have gone so well for you, and hope that you continue to have a positive post-LIS experience. Your written experiences (and you too, NDMK312!), will really help those who come after. And congrats for having been brave enough to go through with it too!

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Fissure since about 2007
Fissure diagnosed in 2011
Diltiazem for two years - didn't work well
LIS January, 2015
Hemorrhoidectomy December, 2017
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Re: LIS surgery Tuesday

Postby Broncosgirl » 01 Apr 2015, 10:15

Morning Day 1: I had some trouble sleeping last night. I became very bloated for some reason, but had trouble passing gas... Ha, I guess this is a good sign in a way that I will not have any incontenance :) Anyway, the bloating caused some anal discomfort. I'd say a level 3-4 pain even after taking pain meds.

This morning my pain had decreased to a 1-2 out of 10. I was feeling pretty good until... Uh oh, I realized I was going to have the dreaded BM. I felt pretty upset because I thought for sure I would have a full day before this happened after all the meds and such I'd been on. I wasn't mentally prepared even though I knew it was a good thing in the end to avoid constipation.

Anyway, I expected the BM to be uncomfortable but not fissure pain. Unfortunately for me it was almost as bad as pre-surgery. I had no bleeding, but still has that sharp knife-like pain. Anyone know if this is a bad sign? I thought the fissure pain was supposed to stop instantly. I would say the BM was a 7 on the pain scale.

I'm in the bath now and the pain is subsiding. I am feeling a bit discouraged and now very anxious about future BMs as I just can't handle that pain anymore. Hopefully this will be the worst of it.
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Re: LIS surgery Tuesday

Postby NDMK312 » 01 Apr 2015, 11:05

So sorry the pain was bad. I think it is normal though, but definitely check with your doctor. My surgeon had indicated that fissure pain and healing would take about 3-5 days post-op. Mine were feeling better prior to surgery so I think that might have been why the first one wasn't so bad for me. If your fissure is still pretty fresh I imagine it might hurt for a little bit, but you should see improvements soon. I was freaking out because the incision area pain has been increasing with my movements in the morning. I switched to Ibuprofen and think that the anti-inflammatory aspect is helping tremendously. Yesterday, it took most of the day to get out of pain on the pain killers. Today I'm feeling really good and its only lunch time. You can also take Ibuprofen with most pain killers. I checked with the doc and got the green light.

Please stay optimistic, it will get better. Don't be afraid to call your doctor and ask every question under the sun. That's what they are there for. I think this all takes time, patience, and a positive outlook. Keep posting, we can continue to support one another as the days pass on.
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Re: LIS surgery Tuesday

Postby chachacha » 01 Apr 2015, 12:05

There's also the possibility that the pain is from the incision site, rather than the fissure, and that would obviously be affected by a BM too. I hope that things improve quickly, but agree that a call to the doctor couldn't hurt, because that is what they're there for. I was very worried about my situation on the first few of days, and called the surgeon's office three times. All three times, the surgeon himself called me back within an hour, and once at 6:00a.m.! I had left the messages on the office machine, so was absolutely floored by such a quick response at that hour!
Fissure since about 2007
Fissure diagnosed in 2011
Diltiazem for two years - didn't work well
LIS January, 2015
Hemorrhoidectomy December, 2017
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Re: LIS surgery Tuesday

Postby Savaici » 01 Apr 2015, 12:52

Hi Broncosgirl,

Good to hear that you are on the other side, though sorry you are experiencing pain. I have not had LIS, so my only suggestions are to do with what has helped me, and what I have read from others.

Use a Sitz bath for relief. A nurse who came on here at one time said that she even had a BM in the water with no problem the first few days.

Use sterile dressings (the ones for cleaning wounds) after a bowel movement. Just wet and dab and throw away. To keep everything as clean as possible. Most important not to use any perfumed substance, especially not soap. Never ever rub.

Here is a wonderfully written post by Davo, one of our old moderators, who had LIS below. Also, you might want to read some of Suzyljank's post - another of our moderators. (here is a link to all her posts search.php?keywords=&terms=all&author=Suzyljank+&sc=1&sf=firstpost&sr=posts&sk=t&sd=d&st=0&ch=300&t=0&submit=Search and they are definitely worth reading) and what she did after her surgery - double flap I believe.

Feel better soon. :smilyhug:

my-lis-diary-march-2012-fully-healed-in-4-weeks-t4589.html?hilit=My%20LIS%20diary
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Re: LIS surgery Tuesday

Postby Broncosgirl » 01 Apr 2015, 14:42

Thank you all for the wisdom! I will look into those other recovery journals and I have a call into my doctor.

My doctor did say that my fissure was substantially worse from last time she saw me and that it looked "pretty bad". Maybe it makes sense I would still be in pain if that's the case. I wish I had listened to my gut and had the surgery sooner.

Also, how do you know where the incision cite is located? I don't know much about what actually happened back there other than they made a cut to losen things up. Where that cut is and what it looks like remain a mystery to me. I'm too scared to rip something if i try to take a look.
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Re: LIS surgery Tuesday

Postby chachacha » 01 Apr 2015, 15:57

If you're brave enough (I wasn't until AFTER my surgery), you can view the surgery here lis-and-fissurectomy-video-t7478.html.

As you can see, they cut a hole beside your anus and then pull the inner sphincter through that opening and towards them, so that they can snip out a small portion. In the video above, the first LIS one shows a cut that is perpendicular to the anal opening, but mine was parallel and only about a centimeter over from it. I was lucky that my husband was willing to take a look and told me exactly where it was, even though he said that it was barely visible because by day 5 (when he first looked) it had healed up almost completely. He could just barely make out a pink line that had one end that was barely still open.
Fissure since about 2007
Fissure diagnosed in 2011
Diltiazem for two years - didn't work well
LIS January, 2015
Hemorrhoidectomy December, 2017
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Re: LIS surgery Tuesday

Postby NDMK312 » 02 Apr 2015, 06:47

Hi! I wanted to check in and see how our holding up? Hoping for better days ahead for you. Hand in there!
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